Grief and bereavement in parents after the death of a child in low- and middle-income countries
Author(s)
McNeil, Michael J
Namisango, Eve
Hunt, Jennifer
Powell, Richard A
Baker, Justin N
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
While great strides have been made in improving childhood mortality, millions of children die each year with significant health-related suffering. More than 98% of these children live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Efforts have been made to increase access to pediatric palliative care (PPC) services to address this suffering in LMICs through policy measures, educational initiatives, and access to essential medicines. However, a core component of high-quality PPC that has been relatively neglected in LMICs is grief and bereavement support for parents after the death of their child. This paper reviews the current literature on parental grief and bereavement in LMICs. This includes describing bereavement research in high-income countries (HICs), including its definition, adverse effect upon parents, and supportive interventions, followed by a review of the literature on health-related grief and bereavement in LMICs, specifically around: perinatal death, infant mortality, infectious disease, interventions used, and perceived need. More research is needed in grief and bereavement of parents in LMICs to provide them with the support they deserve within their specific cultural, social, and religious context. Additionally, these efforts in LMICs will help advance the field of parental grief and bereavement research as a whole.
Date Issued
2020-05-01
Date Acceptance
2020-04-26
Citation
Children, 2020, 7 (5)
ISSN
2227-9067
Publisher
MDPI AG
Journal / Book Title
Children
Volume
7
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32369937
Subjects
bereavement
grief
low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
parents
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Switzerland
Article Number
39
Date Publish Online
2020-05-01